Camera Module

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a camera module, the module including: a PCB; an image sensor mounted on the PCB and formed with an image pickup device; a base mounted on the PCB and including a plated portion formed at a lower center with an opening mounted with an IR filter; a lower spring plate formed with a conductive material; a spacer arranged on an upper surface of the lower spring plate and forming a staircase structure by a rib wrapping a periphery of the lower spring plate to supportively apply a pressure to the lower spring plate; a lens actuator including a bobbin, and a yoke; an upper spring plate coupled to an upper surface of the lens actuator; and a cover attached to an upper surface of the upper spring plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/053,340, filed Feb. 25, 2016; which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/990,674, filed May 30, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No.9,300,849, issued Mar. 29, 2016; which is the U.S. national stageapplication of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2011/008648,filed Nov. 14, 2011; which claims priority to Korean Application Nos.10-2010-0125731, filed Dec. 9, 2010, and 10-2010-0127053, filed Dec. 13,2010, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention

The teachings in accordance with exemplary embodiments of this inventionrelate generally to a camera module, and more particularly to a cameramodule configured to have a tolerance to an electrostatic damage.

Background Art

Generally, a compact small-sized camera module is applied to variousmultimedia fields including notebook type personal computers, cameraphones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), smart phones and toys, andto image input equipment including monitoring cameras and informationterminals.

A PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of a camera module is manufactured beingembedded with various electronic elements, and the electronic elementsare generally configured with integrated modules on the PCB. Theintegrated module used for mobile terminals is exposed to severe radiointerference, which in turn results in abnormal function to theelectronic elements forming the integrated module.

Under the circumstance where the radio interference causes an abnormalfunction to the electronic elements forming the integrated module, ametal shield can is generally utilized to inhibit the radiointerference. The metal shield serves to alleviate the radiointerference ill affecting the electronic elements and to protect theelectronic elements against an outside shock.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view for explaining a problem faced by aconventional camera module. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional cameramodule includes a PCB (11) mounted with an image sensor (12), a base(20) on the PCB (11), upper and lower spring plates (30, 60), a spacer(40), a cover (70), a lens assembly and a lens actuator (50) and ashield can (80).

The lower spring plate (30) in the conventional camera module that iselectrically connected to the PCB (11) forms a layer and may beprotruded to outside. The shield can (80) is generally provided with aconductive metal material, such that the lower spring plate (30) and theshield can (80) may be short-circuited, as illustrated in FIG. 1.Furthermore, a short-circuit may be generated between the lower springplate (30) and a conductive structure even in a camera module free fromthe shield can (80), if the structure assembled for the camera module isconfigured with conductive materials.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

The present invention is to provide a camera module directed to solvethe aforementioned problems or disadvantages by inhibiting the cameramodule from being short-circuited with outside conductive materials.

Technical problems to be solved by the present invention are notrestricted to the above-mentioned, and any other technical problems notmentioned so far will be clearly appreciated from the followingdescription by skilled in the art.

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

An object of the invention is to solve at least one or more of the aboveproblems and/or disadvantages in whole or in part and to provide atleast the advantages described hereinafter. In order to achieve at leastthe above objects, in whole or in part, and in accordance with thepurposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, and in onegeneral aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cameramodule, the camera module comprising: a PCB; an image sensor mounted onthe PCB and formed with an image pickup device; a base mounted on thePCB and including a plated portion formed at a lower center with anopening mounted with an IR (infrared) filter, and accommodated with aconnection lead therein, and corner pillar portions each erected at acorner portion of the plated portion; a lower spring plate formed with aconductive material, and connected to the connection lead of the basefor coupling with an upper surface of the plated portion; a spacerarranged on an upper surface of the lower spring plate and forming astaircase structure by a rib wrapping a periphery of the lower springplate to supportively apply a pressure to the lower spring plate; a lensactuator including a bobbin elastically supported by the lower springplate and accommodated inside a lens assembly, and a yoke wrapping thebobbin and coupled among the corner pillar portions of the base andstacked at an upper surface of the spacer; an upper spring plate coupledto an upper surface of the lens actuator to supportively apply apressure to the lens actuator; and a cover attached to an upper surfaceof the upper spring plate and formed thereon with a hole.

Preferably, the camera module is further comprising a shield can of anenclosure formed thereon with a hole and a bottom-opened inner space,accommodating the lens actuator at the inner space, and secured at abottom end to an upper surface of the PCB.

Preferably, the shield can and the PCB are fixed by an adhesive.

Preferably, the adhesive is a conductive epoxy.

Preferably, the lower spring plate is formed with an upwardly-protrudingyoke terminal to supply an electric power to the lens actuator.

In another general aspect of the present invention, there is provide acamera module, the camera module comprising: a PCB; an image sensormounted on the PCB and formed with an image pickup device; a basemounted on the PCB and including a plated portion formed at a lowercenter with an opening mounted with an IR (infrared) filter, and cornerpillar portions each erected at a corner portion of the plated portion;a lower spring plate formed with a conductive material, and coupled toan upper surface of the plated portion of the base; a lens actuatorincluding a bobbin elastically supported by the lower spring plate andaccommodated inside a lens assembly, and a yoke wrapping the bobbin andcoupled to an upper surface of the base; an upper spring plate coupledto an upper surface of the lens actuator to supportively apply apressure to the lens actuator; and a cover arranged on an upper surfaceof the upper spring plate, coupled to a corner pillar portion of thebase and formed thereon with a hole, wherein an upper surface of theplated portion of the base is formed with an accommodation structureinwardly staircased for accommodating the lower spring plate.

Preferably, the camera module is further comprising a shield can of anenclosure formed thereon with a hole and a bottom-opened inner space,accommodating the lens actuator at the inner space, and secured at abottom end to an upper surface of the PCB.

Preferably, the shield can and the PCB are fixed by an adhesive.

Preferably, the adhesive is a conductive epoxy.

Preferably, the camera module is further comprising a spacer between thelower spring plate and the lens actuator.

Preferably, the lower spring plate is formed with an upwardly-protrudingyoke terminal to supply an electric power to the lens actuator.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

A camera module according to the present invention has an advantageouseffect in that an occurrence of short-circuit with outside conductivematerial is inhibited to alleviate damage to the camera module caused byshort-circuit through structural change to a spacer, thereby dispensingwith formation of additional parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explaining a problem of a conventionalcamera module;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a camera module according to a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a coupled state between astaircase-formed spacer and a lower spring plate;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a coupled state between astaircase-formed base of a camera module and a lower spring plateaccording to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the lower spring plate of FIGS.3 and 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is not intended to limit the invention to theform disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modificationscommensurate with the following teachings, and skill and knowledge ofthe relevant art are within the scope of the present invention. Theembodiments described herein are further intended to explain modes knownof practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art toutilize the invention in such, or other embodiments and with variousmodifications required by the particular application(s) or use(s) of thepresent invention.

The disclosed embodiments and advantages thereof are best understood byreferring to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, like numerals being used forlike and corresponding parts of the various drawings. Other features andadvantages of the disclosed embodiments will be or will become apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the followingfigures and detailed description. It is intended that all suchadditional features and advantages be included within the scope of thedisclosed embodiments, and protected by the accompanying drawings.Further, the illustrated figures are only exemplary and not intended toassert or imply any limitation with regard to the environment,architecture, or process in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Accordingly, the described aspect is intended to embraceall such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within thescope and novel idea of the present invention.

It will be understood that the terms “includes” and/or “including” whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof. That is, the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”,“has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in the detailed descriptionand/or the claims to denote non-exhaustive inclusion in a manner similarto the term “comprising”.

Furthermore, “exemplary” is merely meant to mean an example, rather thanthe best. It is also to be appreciated that features, layers and/orelements depicted herein are illustrated with particular dimensionsand/or orientations relative to one another for purposes of simplicityand ease of understanding, and that the actual dimensions and/ororientations may differ substantially from that illustrated. That is, inthe drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers, regions and/orother elements may be exaggerated or reduced for clarity. Like numbersrefer to like elements throughout and explanations that duplicate oneanother will be omitted. Now, the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended tolimit the order of the processes; these words are simply used to guidethe reader through the description of the methods.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other elements or intervening elements maybe present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being“directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there areno intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items and may be abbreviated as “/”.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another. For example, a first region/layer could be termeda second region/layer, and, similarly, a second region/layer could betermed a first region/layer without departing from the teachings of thedisclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the generalinventive concept. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise.

Now, the camera module according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a camera module according to a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a schematicview illustrating a coupled state between a staircase-formed spacer anda lower spring plate, FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a coupledstate between a staircase-formed base of a camera module and a lowerspring plate according to a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the lower springplate of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIG. 2, a camera module according to a first exemplaryembodiment of the present invention includes a PCB (110), an imagesensor (120), a base (200), upper and lower spring plates (300, 600), aspacer (400), a lens assembly and a lens actuator (500), a cover (700),and a shield can (800).

The PCB (110) is mounted with the image sensor (120), and coupled to thebase (200) and a lower surface of the can (800). The image sensor (120)is mounted with an image pickup device for converting light incidentthrough a lens formed at a lens assembly (510) positioned at an uppersurface of the image sensor (120) to an electrical signal.

The base (200) mounted on the PCB (110) is formed at a lower centerthereof with an opening mounted with an IR filter (220) filtering aninfrared, and includes a plated portion accommodating a connection lead,and a corner pillar portion (230) perpendicularly formed at a cornerportion of the plated portion. The lower spring plate (300) formed witha conductive material is connected to a connection lead of the base(200) and coupled to an upper surface of the plated portion.

The spacer (400) is arranged at an upper surface of the lower springplate (300), formed with a stair-cased structure by a rib encompassing aperiphery of the lower spring plate (300) to supportively apply apressure to the lower spring plate (300). The conductive lower springplate (300) is accommodated by the stair-cased structure formed by therib (see A in FIG. 2) to inhibit the conductive material from beingexposed to an external surface of the spacer (400), whereby the lowerspring plate (300) and an outside conductive material from beingshort-circuited. The difference created by the structure can be moredistinctively shown in comparison with the prior art of FIG. 1. In caseof structure of FIG. 1, a periphery of the lower spring plate (30) isstructurally exposed to an external surface of the spacer (40), thestructure of which can generate an occurrence of short-circuit with anoutside conductive material, whereas the rib structure of spacer (400)according to the present invention has an effect of completely removingthe occurrence of short-circuit.

Now, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower spring plate (300) is formedwith an upwardly protruding yoke terminal (310). The yoke terminal (310)is inserted into a connection hole of a yoke (540) at the lens actuator(500), and the lower spring plate (300) is electrically connected to thePCB (110) through a connection lead inside the base (210) to allow thelens actuator (500) to be provided with an electric power.

The lens actuator (500) includes a lens assembly (510), a bobbin (520)accommodating the lens assembly (510), a coil wound on a periphery ofthe bobbin (520) and the yoke (540), which are elements for verticallydriving the lens assembly (510). The upper spring plate (600) is coupledto an upper surface of the lens actuator (500) to supportively apply apressure to the lens actuator (500). The cover (700) is attached to anupper surface of the upper spring plate (600) and is formed at anuppercenter thereof with a center hole.

The shield can (800), an enclosure formed at a uppercenter thereof witha hole and a bottom-opened inner space, accommodates the lens actuator(500) at the inner space, and fixed at a bottom end to an upper surfaceof the PCB (110) by an adhesive. The adhesive may include a conductiveepoxy, but is not limited thereto.

MODE FOR INVENTION

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a coupled state between astaircase-formed base of a camera module and a lower spring plateaccording to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the lower spring plate formedwith an upwardly protruding yoke terminal according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

An upper surface of a plated portion of a base (210) according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed with anaccommodation structure inwardly formed with staircases to accommodatethe lower spring plate (300) (see ‘A’ of FIG. 2). In a case the lowerspring plate (300) is accommodated in the accommodation structure, theconductive lower spring plate (300) is accommodated by the staircases atan upper surface of the plated portion of the base (210) to structurallyinhibit from exposing to an external surface of the base (210), wherebythe lower spring plate (300) is inhibited from being short-circuitedwith an external conductive material.

The difference created by the structure can be more distinctively shownin comparison with the prior art of FIG. 1. In case of structure of FIG.2, a periphery of the lower spring plate (30) is structurally exposed toan external surface of the base (21), the structure of which cangenerate an occurrence of short-circuit with an outside conductivematerial, whereas the inwardly staircased accommodation structureaccording to the present invention has an effect of completely removingthe occurrence of short-circuit.

Now, referring to FIG. 5, the lower spring plate (300) is formed with anupwardly protruding yoke terminal (310). The yoke terminal (310) isinserted into a connection hole of a yoke (540) at the lens actuator(500), and the lower spring plate (300) is electrically connected to acircuit of the PCB (110) to allow the lens actuator (500) to be providedwith an electric power.

That is, the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention iscomprising a stair-cased structure formed at the base (210), and otherstructures make no big difference from those of the first exemplaryembodiment, such that an overlapped explanation is omitted.

The previous description of the present invention is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Variousmodifications to the invention will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother variations without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention. Thus, the invention is not intended to limit the examplesdescribed herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent withthe principles and novel features disclosed herein.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The camera module according to the present invention has an industrialapplicability in that the novel idea of the present invention can beapplied to a small-sized camera module using a voice coil motor as anautomatic focus adjusting unit.

What is claimed is:
 1. A voice coil motor, comprising: a shield cancomprising an upper plate and a lateral plate extending from the upperplate; a bobbin disposed in the shield can; a coil disposed on thebobbin; a base disposed under the bobbin; a lower spring comprising aninner part coupled to the bobbin, an outer part disposed on an uppersurface of the base, and a connection part connecting the inner part andthe outer part, wherein the lower spring comprising two spring unitsspaced apart from each other; and a terminal coupled to the outer partof the lower spring; wherein the coil coupled to the two spring units,wherein the base comprising a protrusion protruding from the uppersurface of the base and a groove formed on an outer lateral surface ofthe base, wherein the protrusion of the base is disposed between theouter part of the lower spring and the lateral plate of the shield can,and wherein at least a portion of the terminal is disposed in the grooveof the base.
 2. The voice coil motor of claim 1, wherein the shield can,the protrusion, and the lower spring are overlapped in a horizontaldirection, and wherein the shield can extends lower than a lower surfaceof the lower spring in the vertical direction.
 3. The voice coil motorof claim 1, wherein an outer lateral surface of the protrusion extendsfrom the outer lateral surface of the base so that the outer lateralsurface of the protrusion and at least a portion of the outer lateralsurface of the base are disposed on one plane surface.
 4. The voice coilmotor of claim 1, wherein the terminal comprises a first part connectedto the outer part of the lower spring, and wherein the first part of theterminal is disposed at a position inner than that of the outer lateralsurface of the base.
 5. The voice coil motor of claim 1, wherein atleast a portion of the terminal is overlapped with the lateral plate ofthe shield can in a horizontal direction, and wherein the terminal isdisposed at a position inner than that of the lateral plate of theshield can.
 6. The voice coil motor of claim 1, wherein the lower springand the terminal are spaced apart from an inner surface of the lateralplate of the shield can.
 7. The voice coil motor of claim 1, furthercomprising: an upper spring coupled to an upper surface of the bobbin.8. A camera module, comprising: a PCB(Printed Circuit Board); an imagesensor disposed on the PCB; the voice coil motor of claim 1 disposed onan upper surface of the PCB; and a lens coupled to the bobbin of thevoice coil motor.
 9. The camera module of claim 8, wherein the shieldcan of the voice coil motor is connected to the PCB.
 10. A smart phonecomprising the camera module of claim 8.